Thursday, October 1, 2009

Coming "Into The Circle"...

For my first "official" post I thought it would be good to let you in on some of the things that I, as a dietitian, have seen and been told by my clients. This group represents what today, sadly, is the standard American norm. I like to use the analogy of a circle or target to represent diet and nutrition - most people are so far away from the "circle" that they can't even see the "target" and others have hit the bulls-eye, kept going and completely passed it (you'll see what I mean in the examples). Let's get to the fun stuff and then I will help you understand why all of this is important.

Case #1
In a nutrition education class... I asked the question, "What did you have for breakfast this morning?" One the the students points to his can of Pepsi. I ask him, "Do you think that's a good choice?" He replies, "It's the "Healthy Pepsi" without the 'bad' sugar. (He was drinking a Pepsi Throwback which is made with 'real' sugar instead if High Fructose Corn Syrup-HFCS)...

Case #2
While counseling a repeat client I asked him what progress he had made toward his nutrition goals. He said that he had increased the amount of vegetables in his diet. I asked him which vegetables he had been eating. To which he replied, carrots and pickles...

Case #3
One individual that I was seeing regulary told me that she loved chicken nuggets and then asked me, "If I tear the brown stuff off the outside, then they're okay to have, right?" Keep in mind these "naked nuggets" were then dipped in copious amounts of BBQ sauce and served with French Fries - the Coke was diet though...

Case #4
On the other side of the coin are the extremists. One morning on a trail run in Boulder, CO I summited Bear Peak and met a group of 'hikers'. As we were talking they said that they were a "Raw Food" Club. This means that they eat nothing heated over 105 degrees. I said, "At least you can have sushi." They looked absolutely disgusted. Turns out they were also vegan.

These are just a few examples - I could go on and on... So what's my point? Since you have made the choice to visit my blog, my guess is you are already making better food choices than most. It also tells me that you likely have a goal whether it be weight loss/leaning out, weight gain/mass building, improved performance, help with meal planning, grocery shopping, etc., you know what you want to accomplish. This puts you ahead of the game - you can at least "see the circle" and many of you are already in it. In an ideal world we would all be hitting the bulls-eye Paleo-Zoning to perfection everyday, but sometimes it just doesn't work. What I'm saying is I don't expect perfection and you shouldn't either - keep your eyes on the target and let me help you work on your aim!

Note: If you are currently consuming pickles as your primary vegetable and removing the "brown stuff" from your chicken nuggets - email me IMMEDIATELY (if not sooner)...